


Afterwards; Deleted Scenes

by FebruaryFun



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: I'm Bad At Tagging, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:40:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24391438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FebruaryFun/pseuds/FebruaryFun
Summary: If you've been following my series Afterwards, then you know there's only so much of a story I can tell in a series of short videos up to a minute long. Here I'm going to showcase some scenes, lore, and world building that didn't make the cut. There will be warnings at the beginning of each chapter, as well as a brief summary of where the scene takes place in the timeline. I hope you enjoy!
Comments: 4
Kudos: 39





	1. Late Night Walk

This takes place not long after Remus (calling himself 'Bee') brought Warin, disguised as Clover, back to the castle to stay. For the sake of simplicity, Warin will be referred to as Clover while he is in disguise. WARNINGS: Referenced past suicide attempt

***~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~***

Clover thought of himself as fairly lucky. Just a week ago, he'd been worried about how long it would take him to be able to afford a meal. Now, he was laying in a large, comfortable bed with a weighted blanket and multiple pillows, safely tucked away in Bee's... house? Mansion? Mansion, probably. Yes, Clover was a very lucky person.

So why couldn't he sleep?

It wasn't a new problem, he was just surprised that it persisted after he had a bed to sleep in. Ever since he'd lost his sight, Clover had been having trouble sleeping. He could tell when night had fallen because the air got cooler and he could hear shops closing. He could tell when the sun was up because the sunlight was warm, and people were moving around, going about their day. Despite that, being unable to see when it was dark and when it was light really threw him off. Hopefully getting back into some form of a routine would help with that, but in the meantime, he was just going to have to deal with it.

After tossing and turning for what felt like hours, Clover admitted defeat and sat up in bed. If he couldn't sleep, he would just have to find something to do until morning came. He slowly felt his way to the edge of the bed, then got up and followed the bed to the wall. With one hand on the wall and the other in front of him, he slowly started walking around the perimeter of the room, pacing. The room was pretty big, and the bed was nice... how much money did Bee have? What was his job? Clover had never thought to ask, but now that he thought of it, that was probably an important thing to know. And why did he take in Clover, of all people? Just because he was good at riddles? Or was it something else? Clover paused in his pacing, a frown crossing his face. What if he'd walked right into a trap? Why did he trust Bee? He hadn't been given a reason to trust him so far, and yet somehow Clover had trusted him completely, following him to who knows where without a second thought.

Well, Clover hadn't survived this long on luck alone. He found his way to the door, deciding to look for an escape route. If he tried to memorize his path, maybe he could at least remember the way from his room to an exit without having to rely on anyone else. Of course, there was also the possibility that he could get lost and end up wandering this mansion for hours with no idea where he was or how he'd gotten there, but... well, he'd been in worse situations. So, taking a deep breath, Clover opened the door and put his hand on the wall next to it, guiding himself down the hall.

***~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~***

  
_"You took me to a party, gave me flowers, KISSED ME, and then rejected me... but you think you can fix it with 'sorry'?!"_

_Remus looked around, confused. He was standing in Warin's room, facing him. It was so cold. "No, that's not what I meant!"_

_"Have fun finding a new captain, SIRE." Warin stepped backwards, leaning against the window. Remus's eyes widened and he tried to move towards him, only to find himself stuck in place. Water started to rise into the room. It was so cold. Warin sat on the windowsill and leaned backwards._

_"No, no no no nono WARIN!"_

_It was so cold._

_It was so cold._

_It was so cold._

  
Remus shot up in bed, gasping. He'd kicked off his blanket in his sleep, but he wasn't sure if he was shivering because of the draft coming from the window or because of the adrenaline coursing through him. Either way, there wasn't a chance he was getting back to sleep, so he got up to close the window, pausing only for a moment to take in the gentle fragrance of the flowers in the garden below before shutting it. Strangely enough, when he did, the aroma didn't go away entirely. "Huh..."

The sound of footsteps in the hall caught Remus's attention. Who could be up at this hour? It didn't sound like one of the guards on patrol. Their footsteps were always firm and authoritative, normally accompanied by the sound of clinking metal. These footsteps were so soft they were barely there, almost like someone was wandering around barefoot. "Footsteps," Remus mumbled to himself, "The more you take the more you leave behind." He shook his head and went to his door, looking out into the hall.

"Clover?"

"Bee?"

Remus stepped out into the hall, tilting his head. Clover was wandering the castle all alone? "Yeah, it's me."

Clover turned towards Remus slightly, not taking his hand from the wall. "Did I wake you? I'm sorry."

"No, you didn't wake me." Remus rubbed the back of his neck. "I was already awake. What are you doing up?"

Clover shrugged. "I just couldn't sleep. I, um... thought I'd go for a walk to clear my head."

Remus tilted his head. Something told him that Clover was lying. He couldn’t put his finger on it… no, wait, yes he could. Clover was fidgeting with his bracelets. He only did that when he was lying. “Uh huh. Well, I can’t let you wander around alone. You could get lost!” What was he _really_ doing up so late?

“I guess… Well, why are you awake?”

Touche. Why was Remus awake? “It’s um…” Well, if Clover was going to lie, it was only fair that Remus was allowed to lie, too. “It actually kind of was you. It was the smell.”

Clover looked offended. “Smell?”

“Of the flowers!” Remus amended. “Wherever you go, the air smells like honey.”

“Oh…” Clover smiled a bit. “The more they dry out, the stronger the smell gets. I find it awfully calming.” He thought for a moment, fidgeting. “Um… well, if I can’t walk alone, and you can’t sleep either, why don’t you join me for a walk?” His twitching got worse, betraying his nervousness.

Remus was about to tell him that he needed to go back to bed when the moon moved out from behind a cloud outside, illuminating the hall. Clover was framed by moonlight, a white nightgown draped over him that was at least a size too big, nearly hanging off his shoulders and trailing slightly on the floor behind him. Clover shakily drew his hands up to his chest, where the flowers around his neck seemed to glow against his skin. His hair fell gently into his face, over the bandage that taunted Remus with irrational hope. The smell of honey washed over the Duke and his mind was made up. “I would love to go on a walk with you.”

***~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~***

Remus let Clover hold his arm as they walked through the quiet castle, careful to keep him away from any steps or doors. “Why don’t we go outside? The garden is nearby, and it’s a lovely night.”

Clover tilted his head slightly towards Remus. “You have a garden…? I would love to go there. I love the smell of flowers.”

Right, Clover couldn’t see any of them. Remus took him outside anyway, looking around. “Well… There are flowers of all kinds of different shapes and colors here. Some of them have names and some of them don’t. The black roses have teeth, so we’ll have to keep our distance from those.” He paused, not sure what to say next.

In almost a whisper, Clover mumbled, “Tell me more? I want to try to picture it.”

“Well,” Remus began, smiling a bit, “Over by the river there’s a weeping willow that really weeps. Its branches always look like they’re covered in dew because of the tears. Some of the other trees here are orange with blue leaves. Not the prettiest to look at, but they grow these brown fruits with a lot of spikes on the outside of them that taste like peaches, if you can manage to get one open without hurting yourself.”

“That’s very interesting.” Clover smiled and tilted his head up, taking in the gentle breeze. “I once encountered some kind of plant that screamed whenever it dropped a fruit. The little fruits were apparently made of some kind of meat that was very good deep fried. Some say they grow anywhere that a female bear died.”

“Oh, I’ve heard of those!” Remus designed them himself, after all. “That’s an interesting theory, but that’s not why they grow. They might grow in places where a female racoon died, but only if said racoon died of starvation. I know the fruits aren’t poisonous, but I’ve never actually tried them.

“Fasci- f- fascinating,” Clover stuttered, twitching a bit. “Sorry. I don’t do that often, I’m just tired. The fruits are good deep fried, I know tha- that much.”

Remus was a bit worried. Clover really was sleep deprived, wasn’t he? “Here, let’s sit down. These flowers are safe. They’re blue little clusters that smell like vanilla…” After a moment, he picked one, handing it to Clover. “They’re soft as cotton, see? When you put them in water, they turn into bubble soap.”

“Bubble soap?” Clover giggled, and the sound made Remus’s heart skip a beat. “That seems a bit d-different from the other plants you’re growing here.”

“Well, this realm isn’t all creepy or twisted! It’s a bit random at times, but every once in a while an idea shows up that… wouldn’t be so unwelcome in other kingdoms.” Remus picked another flower, handing it to Clover. “Here, take this one, for example. This one is yellow with blue speckled all over it. You can chew the petals like gum, and it tastes like tomato soup. Well, it also cover you in blue dots when you do that, but they wear off in a few hours.”

Clover laughed. “You’re right. That isn’t cre-creepy, just bizarre, not that I- that I mind creepy.” He leaned against Remus without thinking, smiling. “...thank you for taking me out here, Bee, and des- descr- describing it for me. It’s nice. I feel like I can almost see it.”

Remus was surprised to find himself blushing. “Of course,” he said softly, “It’s my pleasure.” He looked around, then spotted a bush growing a few meters away. Perfect. “Hey, Clover? I want to show you one more thing. Wait right here.” He got up and carefully picked a blue cup-shaped flower, then sat next to Clover again. This one is filled with syrup that tastes like bananas. Here, try it. It doesn’t have any serious side effects.”

Clover took the flower, then drank a bit from it, trusting Remus. He leaned against the Duke again, twitching less and less. “No s-serious side- side effects?” he mumbled through a yawn.

Remus chuckled, carefully wrapping his arms around Clover to keep him from falling. “Nothing serious. It makes the person drinking it fall asleep.” And just like that, Clover stopped fidgeting, relaxing as he dozed off in Remus’s arms.

***~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~***

Remus carefully carried Clover back to his room, tucking him into bed. Such an odd person… Remus was constantly thinking about him, wondering who he was, what he liked to do, what he thought about when he just sat so quietly by his window… Yeah, completely normal things to be constantly wondering about. There was one thing that bothered him the most, though. What was under the bandage? Clover never took it off, not even to sleep. Was his injury really so awful?

...if he knew Remus’s real identity, would he let him fix it?

Maybe Clover didn’t have to know. He was sound asleep, so Remus could just take a peek and put the bandage back on when he was done. Surely, at some point, Clover would realize his injury ‘miraculously’ healed, and he would be able to see the garden for himself.

Remus took a deep breath and slowly put his hand on the knot tying the bandage on, picking up the ends to untie it… but then he stopped. Was it really okay for him to do this without Clover’s permission?

_No._ It wasn’t.

Remus stepped away, groaning softly. What was the matter with him? Since when had he cared so much about someone’s boundaries? He was the Duke of the Dark Side! Commander of Nightmares! Ruler of Unwanted Imagery! He did what he wanted and took what he wanted. So why? Why was Clover so different?

Remus got up and left the room, being carefully quiet as he closed the door. He, himself, didn’t get much sleep that night, staring at the ceiling and wondering about the gentle, mysterious man in the room just next door.


	2. The Party; Alternative

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In earlier drafts of Afterwards, Warin was a much more assertive character. This didn’t quite fit with his later decision to run away and live as the very mild-mannered Clover, so in the final draft he ended up being much gentler. This is the original idea for how the party would go, with the first version of Warin. WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SOME IMPLIED MATURE THEMES.

**WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SOME IMPLIED MATURE THEMES.**

Warin swayed with the music in a drunken haze, barely aware of himself. His hands were on Remus’s shoulders, and Remus’s hands were on Warin’s hips. Without thinking, Warin moved his hands down to Remus’s chest, stepping in closer and looking up at him. “Remus… Why did you bring me here?”

Remus looked confused. “What do you mean? I invited you because you could use some fun.”

“No.” Warin gently pressed down on Remus’s chest. “Why did you bring me here? You could have invited anyone. It’s no secret that you like to play with people. Is that it? You want to make my heart your latest toy?”

“That’s not what I want at all,” Remus sighed. “I really do just want to have fun. You’re my guard, and I’d like to consider you a friend.”

Warin stepped further into Remus’s space, briefly smirking at the way it made Remus squeak. “A friend? Really? I don’t want to be your friend.” When Remus stepped back, he stepped forward. “I don’t want to be your guard or your advisor. I don’t think you want that either, do you?”

Remus slowly walked backwards, face red and mind racing. Was Warin angry? Was he upset? “I d-don’t know…”

“It’s a yes or no question, _Your Highness_ ,” Warin growled out, backing him into the wall. “You brought me to this party. You gave me flowers. We’ve been dancing all night. Where did you plan to take it from here? Were you really going to leave at the end of the night?” He put his hand up next to Remus’s head, leaning in. “Yes or no?”

“I-i…” Remus’s mind stalled. “I don’t want to be your friend,” he mumbled, “And… and I don’t want to leave.”

“Then don’t.” Without another word, Warin leaned in and kissed him. When he pulled away, he was smirking. “...you wear lipgloss? I hadn’t noticed.” Despite his snarkiness, the increasing frequency of his twitching was giving him away. He was nervously waiting for Remus’s reaction.

Remus blinked a few times, breathless. “Yeah, I… I do.” He looked down at Warin, then slipped his arm around his waist. “Want to take it off for me?”

Warin grinned, slipping a finger underneath Remus’s choker and pulling gently. “Let’s get one more drink and leave. I want you to myself tonight.”

Warin was never going to think of Duke Remus as a friend.


End file.
